Morton Grove, Niles and Park Ridge look at water supply options
Throughout 2015, Morton Grove, Niles and Park Ridge continued looking at an alternative water supplier.
In May, consulting firm WRB LLC recommended changing water suppliers from Chicago to Evanston. Bill Balling, managing director of the WRB LLC, explained that it would be cheaper than getting water from Chicago, even when the costs of building new infrastructure are taken into account.
In order to get the water, the three municipalities considered joining together to issue bonds and raise money for the necessary infrastructure. The plan called for building a pipeline that would largely follow Oakton Street and connect to pipes that run between Evanston and Skokie.
Niles and Morton Grove decided to proceed with the proposal, officially launching negotiations in June.
However, Park Ridge hesitated. City officials were concerned that the initial expenses involved would outweigh the savings. They also worried that the changeover would cost Park Ridge its back-up water supply. Chicago currently has two pipelines feeding into Park Ridge, while the Evanston connection would only have one.
On Oct. 12, the Park Ridge City Council considered joining the negotiations in order to get a better sense of what the project would entail. But before aldermen could vote on the matter, Balling informed the city that Niles and Morton Grove wanted to investigate an alternative delivery method that would require less new construction.
While this new method could potentially meet those two village’s needs, it may not have enough capacity to supply water to Park Ridge. In response, Park Ridge decided to hold off joining the negotiations until city officials had a better idea as to what the alternative would entail.
Morton Grove Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski told the Bugle that, if the alternative doesn’t pan out, the two villages would be happy to work with Park Ridge.
Park Ridge Mayor, alderman die in office
This year, Park Ridge tragically lost not one, but two city officials.
Mayor David Schmidt died suddenly March 4. As the Bugle reported at the time, the 57-year-old mayor was doing pro bono work with a client at his home when he needed to be rushed to the hospital due to a “sudden illness.” He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead just before midnight.
The City Council voted 5-1 to appoint Seventh Ward Ald. Marty Maloney as acting mayor. Then-First Ward Ald. Joseph Sweeney voted against the appointment, because Maloney chose to keep his seat, and vote, on the city council – one of two options given to mayoral appointees under state law. The acting mayor will serve out the remainder of Schmidt’s term, which will end in May 2017.
Exactly five months later, the city council faced another tragedy. Third Ward Ald. Robert Wilkening died from an undisclosed illness Aug. 4, less than three months into his first term. Before he was elected alderman, he served two four-year terms on the Park Ridge-Niles District 64 Board of Education.
Maloney appointed a five-member commission to select Wilkening’s replacement. Ultimately, the commission recommended Richard Van Roeyen, a special education teacher who ran against Wilkening in the 2015 municipal election.
The city council approved the appointment 5-0, with Maloney abstaining.
Van Roeyen will serve until the 2017 election. At that time, voters will be able to elect a Third Ward alderman, who would then serve the remaining two years of Wilkening’s term.
Election sweep opposition from board
Two trustees that opposed a number of Mayor Andrew Przybylo’s proposals were swept out of office in April by Niles Forward Party candidates.
Three out of the six trustees on the board – Joe LoVerde, Rosemary Palicki and Chris Hanusiak – tried retaining their seats in the election. LoVerde ran as part of the Niles Forward Party slate, which also included former Niles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Director Denise McCreery and recently retired Niles police chief Dean Strzelecki. Hanusiak and Palicki didn’t formally join any slates, but Hanusiak decide to run on a joint platform with another candidate, attorney David Carrabotta.
Over the past two years, Hanusiak and Palicki repeatedly clashed with Przybylo on issues such as hiring a liquor commissioner, choosing the inspector general and the fate of the Leaning Tower of Niles. Hanusiak also expressed skepticism about the Touhy Triangle redevelopment plan that was championed by the mayor, and he opposed granting tax credits to companies on a number of occasions.
The Niles Forward Party positioned itself as a slate that would bring much-needed improvements to Niles and end what they describe as a “divisive atmosphere” on the board. Hanusiak and Carrabotta ran on the platform of fiscal restraint, while Palicki positioned herself as a candidate who would listen to residents and improve village services.
Since the Niles Forward Party was elected, the number of unanimous votes increased significantly – though there have been occasional divided votes. Most notably, the board split on the village tax levy, and a Sept. 22 vote on a village signage study ended with Przybylo having to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Niles works to redevelop Touhy Triangle
In August 2014, the village of Niles unveiled a “vision” for the triangle-like section of Niles between Touhy Avenue, Gross Point Road and Lehigh Avenue. That plan included a business-class hotel, a convention center, an expanded park around the Leaning Tower of Niles and a Metra station.
In 2015, Niles Village Board took several steps to bring that vision closer to reality.
In August, trustees approved the creation of the Gross Point-Touhy tax increment financing district, which includes the Touhy Triangle and several lots to the north and west of the area. By creating the TIF, the village would be able to use property tax revenue collected within its boundaries to cover development-related costs and incentives.
On Nov. 17, the board unanimously asked the Leaning Tower YMCA if it would be interested in selling the Leaning Tower of Niles to the village. Niles has been leasing the iconic structure since 1995, handling maintenance and repairs. The YMCA agreed to sell the tower for the token sum of $10.
During the same meeting, the village board also approved a $548,200 contract with Morton Grove-based Design Installation Systems for repairs to the tower.
Both moves were part of Przybylo’s efforts to turn the Leaning Tower of Niles into a major tourist attraction. He also expressed hope that the purchase would allow the structure to qualify for a National Historic Landmark designation.
Not everything went quite according to plan, however.
In February, Lakhani Hospitality, owners of the Travelers Inn motel, announced that it would demolish the building and replace it with a Holiday Inn Express. The Holiday Inn Express hotels primarily cater to business travelers and would be located only a few blocks west of the Touhy Triangle’s outer edge – close enough to make a business-class hotel within the triangle redundant. The construction started in May and expected to be completed by summer 2016.
Under the original Touhy Triangle “vision,” the business-class hotel was supposed to be located on the west corner of the triangle, on the lot formerly occupied by America’s Best Hotel. On March 21, the village board agreed to allow North Shore University Health System to build medical offices on the site.
Year of controversies for Niles Library Board
This year, the Niles Public Library Board of Trustees repeatedly found itself in the news. On March 12, then-Board President Morgan Dubiel held a special meeting to establish special procedures for any vote that would change the library retirement benefits. The board would need to hold a total of four readings during four regular meetings to make the change, and it must hold three readings in order to make any change to the procedures.
Dubiel originally proposed the rules during the board’s February meeting, only to face backlash from trustees Linda Ryan, Karen Dimond and Barbara Nakanishi. The three trustees were absent during the March 12 meeting, and the change was approved without opposition.
The April election saw Dubiel and trustee Chris Ball lose their seats to newcomers Tim Spandoni and Patti Rozanski, and Ryan became the new board president. Over the course of the summer, the new board held three readings of a proposal to remove the special procedures approved in March. The move led to public backlash, as several residents expressed concerns that it would pave the way for a switch to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund – a public pension fund for municipal government employees. Current retirement benefits are structured similarly to a 401(k), which some residents felt was a better fit for the library.
However, votes related to retirement benefits weren’t the only source of controversy.
On Nov. 30, the board voted 5-2 to raise the library’s tax levy for the first time in the past three years. During the hearing on the levy, a large number of residents who came to speak forced the library to move the meeting to its main event space. With the exception of one resident, everyone who spoke at the hearing urged the board not to go through with the increase.